


Terran Field Trip

by Bobcatmoran



Series: Escape Velocity Nova AU [2]
Category: Escape Velocity Nova, Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Crossover, Gen, hopefully accessible even if you've never played Escape Velocity Nova
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-12-11 07:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11709861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bobcatmoran/pseuds/Bobcatmoran
Summary: The crew, now joined by Joly and Combeferre, takes a field trip to Earth.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Although I hope this accessible to those who haven't played Escape Velocity Nova, a brief note about Joly and Combeferre (or Ver'Joly and P'Ferre): In the tradition of their society, they incorporate the prefixes of the Polaran castes they belong to. Joly is a member of the Ver’ash, the “practical sciences” caste, who focus on medicine and engineering (Ver’Joly specializes in ship engineering, and is very upset to find out what that field is like in non-Polaran societies). Ferre is part of the P’aedt, who are focused more on theoretical science.

**Earth, Sol System, 17 June 1176 NC**

“Has anyone seen or heard from Bahorel and Feuilly?” Grantaire asked. “Our take-off slot is in a few hours.”

“Feuilly just messaged me,” P'Ferre said. “He said they just caught the super-elevator from the surface. Something about problems with security in North…North Africa? No, North America.”

“I don’t care if it’s North Antarctica, so long as they get here in time. I know everyone wanted to play tourist while we were here on Earth, but they’re the only ones who haven’t gotten back yet.”

“It really is a fascinating planet,” P'Ferre said. “The original home of humanity. There’s so much history here, millennia upon millennia of it. And this orbital band we’re on here — what did you say it was again?”

“The Kane Band,” Grantaire said.

“Ah, yes, after the famous Omata Kane. I wrote my academy thesis about her and her discovery of hyperspace link points. We Polarans have artificial rings like this around some of our planets, but they were there when we settled the systems.”

“So…who built them then?”

“We don’t know! It’s a great mystery. We still haven’t figured out how some of the larger ones were constructed.”

“That’s kind of creepy, living among dead alien civilization relics.”

“I think it gives us something to aspire to,” P'Ferre said. Her wrist com pinged. “Ah, Ver'Joly! Are you and your companions nearly ready to go? I think our captain is getting anxious.”

Ver'Joly’s voice drifted out of the speaker. “Nearly. Musichetta wanted to see Sigma Shipyard’s new Starbridge mod, and, oh, P'Ferre,” he continued, switching to Polaran, “ _these Federation ships. They’re all dead, just metal and carbon fiber. No bio-components, not even the shields. It was like walking through a graveyard_.”

“ _Hey, it’s all right_ ,” P'Ferre said soothingly in the same tongue. “ _Those plans you have, once we get them to the Rebels, we can show them how to build a proper ship_.”

“ _I guess. Dragons aren’t as responsive as Mantas though_.”

“ _Which is why they’ll be better for the Rebels. I suspect they’ll have trouble enough getting used to the idea of feeding a ship, much less one that gets depressed if you don’t give it enough to do. That wouldn’t be fair to the ship_.”

“ _Mmm. From the sound of it, the materials will be easier to acquire, too. If their ships are all inorganic, it’ll be hard enough getting the cultures for shield nacelles to develop properly in their ship-building facilities_.”

“ _Precisely. An inorganic frame with bio-skin is the perfect place to start for them. Besides, we can’t be giving away_ all _our secrets now, can we_?”

“ _I suppose the council would look poorly upon_  — Bahorel,  _what_  is that on your head?”

An enthusiastic whoop from Bahorel came from the com, followed by a few rustling noises, a voice complaining, “Get off!” and then Ver'Joly, laughing, telling P'Ferre, “We’re on our way back.”


	2. Bahorel and Feuilly's Excellent Texan Aventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bahorel and Feuilly return from their adventures in North America.

**Earth, Sol System, 17 June 1176 NC**

“Bahorel,  _what_  is that on your head?” Ver'Joly called, seeing Bahorel and Feuilly exiting the nearby super-elevator.

Bahorel, who was wearing an enormous wide-brimmed hat, gave a whoop, and ran towards Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta. She attempted to lift Bossuet up in a bear hug, and, finding him too large to do so, settled for half-climbing him.

“Get off,” Bossuet said, swiping her hat and adjusting it on his balding head. “Hm, not bad.”

Ver'Joly cracked up, and managed to tell P'Ferre through his com that they were on their way back.

Feuilly ambled up at a more sedate pace. “ _Howdy, pardners,”_  he said in an unfamiliar tongue. “Did you three get down to the surface?”

“Yes, but we managed to get back on time. Come on, we’d better walk and talk — Grantaire just called us saying take-off time is in a few hours,” Musichetta said. “What took you two so long anyhow?”

“Well, part of the problem was with security down at the American elevator. Bahorel, fortunately, was loaded down with enough souvenirs that they bought the tale that we were just there on a sightseeing trip. But the other part is that after we met our contact, we wanted to see this fort in an Old Earth town — Santa Tonio? Anyhow, there was a famous battle there over two thousand years ago, and all the warriors died defending their House. They had a reconstruction of the fort, and holos of the warriors. I got a knife that was named after the great battle group leader Bowie. But I think Bahorel was a bit bored with the history lesson, and she found a man who said that he could take her to an underground ring where they ride…what were those things called again, Bahorel?”

“Cows!” Bahorel said, grinning as she swiped back her hat and adjusted it to a jaunty angle. “They are mighty beasts. Not so many teeth as a cunjo, but much larger. The females are quite docile, or so I am told, but the males are fearsome, with horns that could gouge your entrails out.”

“That's…graphic,” Ver'Joly said, looking perturbed.

“Oh, that’s why the pre-spacers would have competitions to see who could throw a rope around one, or who could ride atop their backs for the longest. There was this fellow who said that I looked like I might be game for it—”

“Because you’re Auroran,” Feuilly said.

“Because I’m Auroran,” Bahorel agreed.

“And because we have a reputation in the Federation for being a bunch of foolhardy, bloodthirsty savages,” Feuilly said.

“Right,” Bahorel agreed. “So even if this fellow doesn’t understand the finer points — or even the coarser points — of the Warrior’s Path, he invited me and Feuilly to this contest. All very hush-hush, you understand, and I rather suspect he wanted to prove something about Aurorans versus Federation folk.”

“There were a few people in the audience who were…let’s just say…unhappy…about Bahorel winning the contest.”

“Look, it’s not my fault that none of those Earthers could keep their seats. It’s not that hard, really. You just have to read the Weave of the animal, and then you can adjust your movements to compensate. Anyhow, I won this for staying on the cow for the longest.” Bahorel held up a package that appeared to be made entirely of insulating foil.

“What is it?” Bossuet asked.

“It’s a beef!” Bahorel said. “Real cow meat.”

“You mean,” Ver'Joly said, “That’s from an  _animal_? That’s barbaric!”

“That’s  _expensive_ ,” Musichetta said. “Good grief, Bahorel, that’s like a two thousand credit chunk of protein.”

“Isn’t that what Protein B was based on?” Bossuet asked, poking at the package. “Like, when they developed vat protein, it was supposed to be in imitation of the stuff from real animals.”

“Ugh, give me vat protein any day,” Ver'Joly said. “Cutting up an animal, that has to be unsanitary. It’s probably full of pathogens.”

“Eh, cooking kills off most pathogens,” Feuilly said. “Speaking of which, does anyone know how to cook a beef?”

“…The same way you cook Protein B?” Bossuet hazarded.

“P'Ferre might know,” Ver'Joly said.

Bahorel frowned. “I thought you Polarans didn’t have cows.”

“We don’t, but she knows an awful lot of random information.”

“Well, come on then, let’s get back to the ship and pester her!” Bahorel said, grabbing Ver’Joly by the arm and dragging him towards the transit hub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am unsure whether the name change of San Antonio, Texas, is due to linguistic shift over a couple thousand years or just because neither Feuilly nor Bahorel speaks Spanish or, indeed, any Old Earth language, which are largely the realm of scholars by this point in time, much like how Anglo-Saxon or Old Norse aren’t spoken by laypeople in the 21st century.


End file.
